Texans' defense has crisis with identity

Not quite a week into training camp, the Texans' offense is doing postgraduate-level work, even with injuries and illness creating disruptions.

The two-deep depth chart features all of three new faces, and only the fullback, with Pro Bowler Vonta Leach gone to Baltimore, is certain to be different from last year.

The defense, on the other hand, is barely finishing freshman orientation, having had no get-acquainted time over the offseason because of the labor battle. You half expect to see its players wearing "Hello, my name is … " tags on their practice jerseys. And, in addition to the upheaval in the locker room, the philosophy and terminology are new for everyone.

This is what happens when a team plays as ineptly as the Texans did last season, finishing last in pass defense and 29th in points allowed as soaring playoff hopes gave way to a 6-10 reality.

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, right, does a spin move as he goes through a pass rush drill against Houston Texans guard Antoine Caldwell during Texans training camp at the Methodist Training Center ... more

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, right, does a spin move as he goes through a pass rush drill against Houston Texans guard Antoine Caldwell during Texans training camp at the Methodist Training Center ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff

Texans' defense has crisis with identity

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Added defensive end Antonio Smith: "The calls are different and the names of things are different. You have to re-teach yourself everything you've learned over your entire career. But you've got to be open-minded. You can't resist because we didn't have much success last year. This is what happens when things don't go well. You make some big changes."

What's happening in the Texans' case is a nearly total, top-to-bottom makeover. The only player listed as a starter at nominally the same position he played in 2010 for fired coordinator Frank Bush's 4-3 set is right cornerback Kareem Jackson, whose rookie season was hardly auspicious.

And just one position coach, the defensive line's Bill Kollar, kept his job. This wasn't a housecleaning. This was a tear-down.

Wade Phillips, Bush's replacement, has earned a Mr. Fix-It reputation almost everywhere he's gone. He brought with him back to Houston, where his NFL coaching career began in 1976, the 3-4 defense he first deployed 30 years ago this summer as a rookie coordinator under his father, Bum, in New Orleans.

Asked if the Texans are his toughest rehab project, Phillips smiled.

"You usually get hired because things weren't going too well before you got there," he said. "It's the same kind of challenge here as everywhere else I've taken over. I think we started five rookies that first season in New Orleans."

It appears the Texans will start only one, top draft choice J.J. Watt, at left defensive end. But Mario Williams and Connor Barwin are "rookie" outside linebackers and Glover Quin is a "rookie" strong safety. These are major transitions.

New responsibilities

Just ask Quin.

"As a corner, you're mostly just playing your receiver," he said. "As a safety, you have to play tight ends, you have to read the run game, you have to read the passing game, you have to cover bigger bodies. You've got to make your reads quicker."

Defensive tackle Earl Mitchell, in turn, is adjusting to playing full time at nose tackle, the fulcrum in the 3-4. And outside linebacker Brian Cushing has moved inside, where he'll share turf with DeMeco Ryans.

Further complications: Ryans is coming off a nearly lost season after he tore an Achilles' tendon early; Cushing is rehabbing following off-season knee surgery. It could be a while before they're on the field together, although Cushing is expected to be 100 percent for the season opener against Indianapolis on Sept. 11 at Reliant Stadium.

In the interim, Williams is arguably Phillips' major individual project as he tries to find himself another quarterback scourge in the mold of Dallas' DeMarcus Ware.

Lots of homework

"The technique things are different," said Williams, who has studied Ware on film. "I'm really excited (about the changes), but I've got to (pay attention) in the classroom and focus on working on the fundamentals."

Three rookie draft choices - Brandon Harris, Roc Carmichael and Shiloh Keo - are vying for backup roles in the secondary, where corner Johnathan Joseph and Manning, although proven veterans worthy of big-dollar contracts, were hardly known to their new teammates - or each other - just a week ago.

"I'm kind of coaching and learning at the same time," Joseph said.

The former Bengal Joseph and the former Bear Manning are making a strong impression on their new teammates.

"Those guys are playmakers, and that's what the coaches brought them in for," Jackson said.